Involving Youth in Ministries of Service

I am currently serving the parish of St. Anthony Marie de Claret as the Director of Religious Education. Prior to outlining this proposal, I assessed the strengths and weaknesses within our catechetical programs, looked at the dynamics of the St. Anthony community, and discussed the project with our pastor to obtain his preferences. The common thread of concern was the lack of involvement and presence of the youth in the life of the parish. I decided to design and implement a pastoral project, using my ninth grade class as the pilot group, which would allow students to serve alongside adult leaders in existing outreach ministries within the parish. In my reading on adolescent spirituality there is agreement that service is important to youth, and it is one of the better ways to positively influence spiritual growth. One of the goals of our confirmation preparation program is to develop in our teens a heart of service. For these reasons, I believe that the most effective area to integrate the youth into the community is to add to the curriculum a service unit in outreach ministry. My intention is to identify the parish ministries and organizations that perform outreach, invite the leaders of each to come to our class and present an overview of their services, have the students select the ministries in which they are most interested in participating, and then assign them to a ministry for a period of six weeks. Students and parents will be contacted by the leader with details on meetings or events in which they will participate. Both leaders and students will receive forms on which to log participation, and an evaluation form to complete once the project is finished. Students will be given a pre- and post-survey to assess religious attitudes and practices: Class time will be devoted to the Works of Mercy, the scripture from Matthew on the Judgment of the Nations, and Catholic Social Teaching. I have chosen the liturgical season of Lent to provide further emphasis on charity and sacrifice. It is my hope that this project will become an annual addition to the ninth grade year in religious education, and that through it teens will feel an increased sense of belonging to their parish. Participation in this outreach ministry project will give the youth an opportunity to serve the poor, the incarcerated, the elderly, and others in need of assistance. Through this experience in applied learning they will see faith in action-both in ministry leaders and themselves

Attributes and roles assigned to characters in children's writing: Sex differences and sex-role perceptions

This research examined the creative writing of 180 elementary school children for evidence of sex difference and sex-role perceptions. Stories were analyzed for frequency of male and female characters, attributes, and roles. Writers were equally divided by sex and into three age groups—grades 1–2, 3–4, and 5–6. Results suggest that the total number of characters, roles, and attributes was equivalent. However, the distribution of male and female characters, roles, and attributes differed with male and female writers. Female writers included significantly more female characters and assigned more attributes and roles to these characters. Nevertheless, in the stories of both male and female writers, there was a predominance of male characters and assignment of attributes and roles to male characters. The findings support the development and implementation of a nonsexist curriculum.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45576/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00288084.pd

The Influence of Children's Literature on Gender Role Perceptions: A Reexamination

This project reexamined young children's gender attitudes regarding occupational roles. The results of this study suggested that young children's atitudes, while still generally stereotypic, were more flexible regarding occupational roles. The reading of carefully selected books and book related activities positively influenced gender attitudes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42647/1/10643_2004_Article_416648.pd

Effect of 17 Days of Bed Rest on Peak Isometric Force and Unloaded Shortening Velocity of Human Soleus Fibers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of prolonged bed rest (BR) on the peak isometric force (Po) and unloaded shortening velocity (Vo) of single Ca2+-activated muscle fibers. Soleus muscle biopsies were obtained from eight adult males before and after 17 days of 6° head-down BR. Chemically permeabilized single fiber segments were mounted between a force transducer and position motor, activated with saturating levels of Ca2+, and subjected to slack length steps. Vo was determined by plotting the time for force redevelopment vs. the slack step distance. Gel electrophoresis revealed that 96% of the pre- and 87% of the post-BR fibers studied expressed only the slow type I myosin heavy chain isoform. Fibers with diameter \u3e100 μm made up only 14% of this post-BR type I population compared with 33% of the pre-BR type I population. Consequently, the post-BR type I fibers (n = 147) were, on average, 5% smaller in diameter than the pre-BR type I fibers (n = 218) and produced 13% less absolute Po. BR had no overall effect on Po per fiber cross-sectional area (Po/CSA), even though half of the subjects displayed a decline of 9–12% in Po/CSA after BR. Type I fiber Vo increased by an average of 34% with BR. Although the ratio of myosin light chain 3 to myosin light chain 2 also rose with BR, there was no correlation between this ratio and Vo for either the pre- or post-BR fibers. In separate fibers obtained from the original biopsies, quantitative electron microscopy revealed a 20–24% decrease in thin filament density, with no change in thick filament density. These results raise the possibility that alterations in the geometric relationships between thin and thick filaments may be at least partially responsible for the elevated Vo of the post-BR type I fibers